5 unique Premier League records in the last decade

Premier League was formed in 1992 and it recently celebrated its silver jubilee with the conclusion of last season. However, 2006/07 season marked the evolution of deeper statistical analysis which was achieved by the technological growth. Since then, each and every move of the players have been noted which has led to several unique records being created in the league.

#5 Aerial duels won - Peter Crouch (1785)

The tall English International holds the record for highest number of aerial battles won in the league. The Stoke City forward has won 1785 aerial battles and has proved to be one of the biggest threats in the air. Christian Benteke is second in the list but the gap at the top is almost 600 which shows the aerial dominance of Crouch.

Out of the 106 goals he has scored in Premier League, 39 have come from headers, which is also the highest in the league. Second in the list is Olivier Giroud who has scored 26 goals, 13 less than the English giant.

Peter Crouch's best season came in 2004/05 in which he scored 12 goals and assisted six for his club Southampton. He has played for six clubs in his Premier League career including the likes of top clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool.

#4 Through balls - Cesc Fabregas (359)

The Spanish midfielder has successfully completed 359 through balls which is the highest in the league. David Silva is second in the list with 268 through balls which is very much less than Fabregas' current record. The stats further reveal that the Chelsea midfielder has completed a whopping 110 through balls in the 2010/11 season alone which is more than double of what second in the list - Andrey Arshavin completed during the season.

Fabregas has been one of the best midfielders in the last decade proving his potential at two top clubs in the Premier League. He started his career in England at Arsenal where he spent eight seasons before moving to Spanish giants Barcelona for a fee of £35 million. His second spell in the Premier League came in the form of a transfer to Chelsea for around £30 million and he has now established himself as an integral part of their line-up.

Fabregas' best season came in 2009/10 in which he scored 15 goals and assisted 13 during the course of the season. He has made 322 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 49 goals and assisting 108, establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.

#3 Interceptions - Gael Clichy (855)

The French international holds the record for making most number of interceptions in the Premier League having made a total of 855 interceptions during his stay in the England's top-tier. He managed to intercept 136 passes in a single season - 2007/08, while playing for the Gunners. His fellow Frenchman Laurent Koscielny is second in the list who has made 636 interceptions so far, 219 less than the leader.

Similar to Fabregas, Clichy started his career at Arsenal and spent eight seasons at the club before making a move to Manchester City. Clichy has enjoyed a successful career in the Premier League having played 325 games and securing 105 clean sheets out of those. He has also been a part of three Champions that won the title including Arsenal's invincible side in 2003/04 season.

His best season came in 2007/08 in which his side kept 15 cleansheets and he was a part of the line-up in every game of the league. Clichy is currently playing in Turkey for his club Istanbul Basaksehir following his move from Manchester City at the end of last season.

#2 Hit the woodwork - Robin Van Persie (44)

The Flying Dutchman holds the unfortunate record of hitting the woodwork most number of times, having struck the frame of the goal 44 times in his Premier League career. Wayne Rooney stands second in the list having hit the woodwork 28 times. He became the only player to hit the frame of the goal 10 or more times in a single season when he smashed 10 shots at the woodwork during the 2011/12 season.

Yet another player in the list who started his Premier League career with the Gunners and spent an identical eight seasons at the club similar to Fabregas and Clichy. He was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012 and the Dutchman immediately helped the Red Devils win their 20th league title with his sublime finishing throughout the season.

Van Persie has made 280 appearances in the Premier League scoring 144 goals and assisting 53. He won the Golden Boot two consecutives times - one with the Gunners and the next one with United. Despite hitting the woodwork 10 times in the season, Van Persie scored 30 goals in 2012/13 Premier League campaign, making it his best season overall.

#1 Corners taken - Steven Gerrard (901)

Stevie G, one of the best midfielders Premier League has ever witnessed, holds the record for taking most number of corner kicks. Former Liverpool skipper has taken a record 901 corners for his team, five more than Stewart Downing who has taken 896. This practice of crossing has also taken him to fifth in the list of players who have attempted the most number of crosses.

The Liverpool legend is one of the very few world-class footballers to have devoted themselves to a single club in their career. He started his Premier League career in 1998 and spent 17 seasons at Anfield dedicating himself to the club. During his glorious career, he made a record 504 Premier League appearances scoring 120 goals and assisting 92.

The 2008/09 season proved to be the best one for the Englishman in which he scored 16 goals and set-up nine more. He continues to spend his time at Anfield as he currently focuses on training the youth team.

Edited by Nived Zenith